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Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.

After looking at 5 million pictures of towering, melting, drool-inducing ice cream cones on my Instagram feed I realized this: We’re in the golden age of ice cream.

There’s lots of people and institutions to thank for this. On the old-school front: Baskin-Robbins has introduced attention-getting flavors like State Fair Fried Dough (chunks of funnel cake and fried dough in caramel ice cream, hello!). Also, some amazing, already-beloved ice cream stores are expanding: Jeni’s has set up shop in Charleston, South Carolina, and Salt & Straw has opened in L.A. My heroes Big Gay Ice Cream are opening in L.A. and Philadelphia.

And then there are all the fab new new ice cream shops opening around the country. Here, our favorites.

Morgenstern’s - New York City
At this brightly lit spot in downtown New York, the lines are even longer than they are for the nearby clubs. Morgenstern’s specializes in flavors like Salted Pretzel Caramel and Brazilian Bourbon. The sundaes are especially insane: King Kong Banana Split (bananas, ice cream, sesame caramel and pineapple) and Good Morning Vietnam (Vietnamese Coffee ice cream, condensed milk caramel, coffee cake and cream).

A photo posted by Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream (@morgensternsnyc) on May 27, 2014 at 11:58am PDT

High Point Creamery - Denver, Colorado (@hipointcreamery)
The husband-and-wife team of Erika Thomas and Chad Stutz launched their shop because they love ice cream (yay!!). In addition to a menu of 18 rotating flavors (like Basil with Blackberry Swirl and Brown Butter Pecan), their signature snack is the Bombe—an insane-sounding cake made of meringue sandwiched between two kinds of ice cream. If you want more options, they also offer five-flavor ice cream flights.

A photo posted by High Point Creamery (@highpointcreamery) on Jun 17, 2014 at 3:25pm PDT

Gelateria Uli - Los Angeles (@gelateriauli)
In the gorgeous 1920s Spring Arcade Building in downtown L.A., this new gelateria serves 16 rotating flavors daily with options that tend toward the inspired like the shortbread cookie–flavored Speculoos and Coconut Lemongrass. You can check out a more complete list on their website, which is also the place to request a flavor you’d love to see them make.

Nicecream Factory - Arlington, Virginia (@nicecreamdc)
Co-owners Sandra Tran and Gil Welsford started their business last year as a pop-up at local farmers’ markets and restaurants; in May they opened their brick-and-mortar shop. At Nicecream, all the ice cream is freshly made. Literally. It’s made right in front of you using local ingredients and liquid nitrogen, which, Tran says, makes the ice cream taste fresher and creamier since it’s not sitting in a freezer for hours. It also creates a super-cool cloud of vapor. Flavors range from strawberry to pistachio and bacon-studded chocolate.

A photo posted by NicecreamDC (@nicecreamdc) on Jul 4, 2014 at 9:45am PDT

OddFellows Ice Cream Co. - Brooklyn, New York (@oddfellowsnyc)
In the hipster epicenter of Williamsburg, OddFellows makes 100 flavors of ice cream, offering 12 to 14 options at a time like S’mores, Buttermilk Biscuit and Thai Iced Cream. They’ve just opened a brand-new location in Manhattan’s East Village; odds are they’ll start creating even more genius flavors. OddFellows bonus: They donate 5 cents to the Food Bank for New York City for every serving of ice cream sold.

The Parlour - Durham, NC (@parlourdurham)
What started out as an ice cream bus (dream come true!) in 2011 from the husband-and-wife team of Yoni and Vanessa Mazuz is now a shop that features hand-churned ice cream made as much as possible from local ingredients. Their hyper-seasonal flavors include Summer Corn, Blueberry Cheesecake and Vegan Chocolate. Toppings, like Pralined Pecans and Espresso Whipped Cream, are equally artisanal.

Best new business model in the US hands-down is Cream in the SF Bay Area....

I will be stunned if this isn't the latest massive fad. Self-serve froyo was not
innovative, excessively frosted cupcakes and donuts are fairly pointless, and
gourmet popsicles are not a cravable food.

There is no ice cream better than blue bell ice cream.you must try it and you will be hooked.
It is addicting and there are so many varieties of flavors.it very rich and creamy.
I THINK IT IS A SOUTHERN COMPANY OUT OF TEXAS.
CHECK IT OUT!!!

Just found these guys at a farmers market in northern PA: icescreamvegan.com . I don't think they have a brick and mortar store but their icecream was amazing! And dairy free, too! I really could not tell the difference, even though it was made from coconut milk. They had a mango/pineapple with citra hops, which was interesting, but my favorite was chocolate. Really cool peeps and felt good to be supporting local small business.

There are so many ice cream stores its hard to choose. My latest favorite is home made Gelato shops.. the flavors are so rich and the fruit is so natural..My fav flavor is Still Rum Raisin by Haggendaas and recently a Gelato shop made up a Chocolate rum ice cream... Much to be said for good liquer flavorings.. Most dont have alchohol in them anymore.. so the kids can indulge! Also any ice cream with summer peaches are delish!

Hey Mikey's in Galveston is one of the best corner ice cream shops I've been in. You can suggest flavors for them to make and the next time you visit, they'll have your flavor. And I haven't had a bad scoop yet.

Dream Cream Ice Cream in Pittsburgh PA Should most definitely be added to this list. It was the winner of the Popup Downtown Grant Project which gives small businesses the opportunity compete for a grant that allows them to operate rent free in an empty storefront for one year. If the business is successful it is given the opportunity to take over the rent and grow.

Dream Cream is awesome though. Tons of inventive flavors at a reasonable cost and every flavor is associated with a great cause so you are giving back to charity while enjoying you favorite flavor of Ice cream. The charities range from Aids Awareness programs to helping a single mother with a special needs kid with her medication costs. All charities are reviewed and decided on by a board of directors before officially getting a flavor. AMAZING SHOP that is more than worthy of the national spotlight!!!